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What camera should you buy?

Looking for a snapper for a particular job? Here are the best cameras for different shooting situations

22 October 2012/16:29BST

Most cameras offer some degree of versatility, but it’s fair to say that there are certain photographic jobs for which some tools are better than others. And for the following jobs, we’d recommend the following cameras...

Assuming you’re going to be crawling through undergrowth looking to shoot animals and birds in their natural habitat rather than peering at ants through a macro lens, we’d recommend a DSLR and a nice telephoto lens. And the 24MP Nikon D3200 is a fine mid-range camera, especially when paired with this relatively affordable 70-300mm telephoto zoom, which’ll let you snap subjects without getting too close and scaring them off.

Wildlife photography – Nikon D3200 and Nikkor 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G lens

Jetting off to some European capital for a long weekend and want a snapper to help capture it all? You can go wrong with the Olympus OM-D E-M5, the company’s most advanced compact system camera yet: powerful and versatile, it shoots excellently in almost any conditions, autofocuses in a flash and features advanced image stabilisation

While it isn’t out just yet, it’s clear that the Samsung Galaxy Camera is a cut above the existing handful of snappers capable of uploading your shots to Facebook or Picasa via a clunky interface and Wi-Fi. The Galaxy Camera is a class apart, running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and having access to all the social networks as well as sharing sites like Instagram and Flickr.

City break – Olympus OM-D E-M5

Don’t let its retro exterior fool you: the X10 is as cutting edge as they come – and a great camera for snapping scenes of everyday street life. Its small size, discreet black finish, speedy autofocus and manual zoom ring make it ideal for quickly capturing interesting people and scenes.

The one camera you’re pretty much guaranteed to have on you at all times is your smartphone. The Nokia 808 PureView may have the best camera of any blower on the block, but its Symbian OS means we can’t really recommend it. The new Sony Xperia T, on the other hand, sports the far more useful Android 4.0 Jelly Bean, alongside a 13MP camera that’s ready for action just over a second after you tap the shutter button. Performance is excellent, with the new sensor delivering beautifully accurate colours and detail.